The invention relates to a housing for, and method of enclosing, small-format electrical devices, and more specifically to plastic housings for devices such as computer peripheral and memory devices.
Computer memory and other peripheral devices are either built into a computer or are external devices which may be selectively attached to the computer through an externally accessible interface. Certain peripheral devices are now small enough to be housed in small, thin, card-shaped packages that are intended to be inserted into specially-designed receptacles typically found in portable personal computers. Other applications for such devices may be found. For example, digital cameras may use flash memory cards instead of film.
Because of the many possible methods of constructing the interface between the computer and such devices, standards have been developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association ("PCMCIA"), JEDIC, International Organization for Standardization ("ISO"), Compact Flash Association ("CFA"), and others. Standards specify the shape and size of the device housing as well as the design of the connector/computer interface. Devices conforming to these standards are generally referred to as "PC card" devices.
PC card devices should be sealed within a strong, rigid package. Attempts were made in the past to provide an all-plastic housing for these devices. These attempts were unsuccessful because of the inability to manufacture plastic pieces thin enough to meet the size constraints of the standard and still provide the required structural integrity. One prior art housing attempted to solve the thickness problem by cutting a notch in the housing around the device connector. However, the resulting enclosure lacked the required rigidity, was prone to failure, and had a visible gap between the connector and the housing that was unsightly and exposed the device to external contaminants.
The current practice is to use metal containers, or metal and plastic containers such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,857. Although this package provides the necessary rigidity, it requires expensive metal parts and multiple steps to manufacture and assemble.